‘Milestone’ can be saved (Letter to the Editor)

Milestone, the literary arts journal of East Los Angeles College since 1950, was denied its 2016 & 2017 annual Spring publications due to attempted censorship by the ELAC administration, which resulted in loss of funding for the magazine.

On February 15, 2017 Milestone readers, contributors, and staff were informed via Milestone’s Facebook page (@ELACMilestone) that the 2016/2017 editions had been “postponed;” and the Milestone class (English 32: College Literary Magazine Editing) had been canceled for the Spring 2017 semester.

“There was a big controversy last spring because of the photos we chose for the 2016 magazine. The case went to the ELAC president, and to the school’s attorney. The issue remained in limbo. We won the censorship, but it meant we were now short on funding. The magazine’s release was stalled until the Fall, but it didn’t look good. The English Department voted to combine the 2016/2017 issues, to be released Spring 2017.”

– Dustin Lehren, Milestone Faculty Adviser (2014-2016)

“It’s a financial issue, not a work issue. We will be able to publish Milestone, but not in Spring 2017. It’s unfortunate, but it’s fact. We will be exploring other options for getting it published.”

– Alex Solis, Milestone Faculty Adviser (2017)

To date, Milestone magazine’s future remains uncertain—thus ensuring the wasted efforts of the Milestone student-staff, and squandering the talented contributions of those aspiring writers, poets, and artists of East Los Angeles College who were thrilled to be accepted for publication, but are now left with unfulfilled dreams.